The Prefect Raffaele Raggi is identified by a crest at the upper right. This image is Van Dyck's first
portrait of a deceased sitter. In 1528 this prefect had gained the Raggi
family's admission into the nobility of Genoa, and his descendants must have
requested this posthumous portrait to emphasize their lineage. Van Dyck,
however, did not attempt to create an actual ancestor likeness; he
undoubtedly used a living model to add vivacity to the face. Moreover, the
armor is that of Van Dyck's own time, not of the early sixteenth century
when the subject lived.